The present invention concerns a winding apparatus for threads or yarns with a bobbin support roll and a friction drive drum, which rolls are arranged mutually parallel and with their rotational axes contained superimposed in a substantially vertical plane, and one of which rolls being subject to the movements caused by the increase of the bobbin packages being built on the bobbin support roll, which movements are effected in guides substantially parallel to the plane, one of the rolls being pivotable in movements parallel to the plane about a pivoting axis, and the bobbin support roll being supported rotatably in a bearing located at one of its ends.
Winding of threads, yarns and similar strands on a chuck or mandrel, or onto a bobbin support roll, respectively, is a known process, the roll being supported at one side only, for operational reasons. Rotation of the bobbin support roll is effected by surface friction drive using a friction drive roll arranged parallel to the support roll and pre-tensioned with respect to it. Due mainly to the bobbin package weight increase during the winding process and due to the elastic support on the bobbin support roll, the two rolls do not remain exactly parallel during the winding process. Thus, the contacting pressure of the friction drill roll no longer is equal over the length of the bobbin support roll, such that conical bobbin packages are produced. This disadvantage is all the more considerable, the bigger and larger the bobbin packages are. If on the bobbin support roll a plurality of bobbin packages is wound simultaneously, these packages additionally differ. Thus, the production of correct bobbin packages is rendered more difficult or impossible.
From German Patent Publication No. 2,649,555 already a "self-aligning" arrangement of the friction drive roll is known. In this arrangement the latter is pivotable about an axis at right angles with respect to the rotational axis, in such manner, that owing to the pressure directed towards the bobbin support roll the friction drive roll always aligns itself parallel to the bobbin support roll. From German Patent Publication No. 2,058,513 an arrangement is known, in which the bobbin support roll aligns itself parallel to the friction drive roll. These designs incorporating a self-aligning arrangement require a complicated structure of the pivotable roll. The latter furthermore is unstable to a certain extent, which causes the excitation of vibrations, which induce wear and fractures.
On the other hand, the support roll and the friction drive roll can also be mutually aligned in such manner that they are in their mutually exactly parallel position while the bobbin packages are half built, i.e. that at the beginning of the winding process, e.g. the support roll with its free end is inclined slightly towards the friction drive roll and at the end of the winding process is slightly inclined away from it. Such machines, operating with a "mean value setting" of this type, yield better results than machines on which no measures have been taken. They perform satisfactorily only, however, for one certain bobbin package diameter to be produced. The bobbins produced still are uneven and their quality is unsatisfactory.